Just wondering if there are any types of grafts or budding that I can do at this time of year. Thanks
greenwood grafting of pecan and walnut will work for a few more weeks.
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chip budding, Steven.
I am doing mulberry today or tomorrow. Yesterday I used a slim drill bit and drilled thru the base of the rootstocks a few inches off the ground all the way thru; and then an inch above the first drilling I went thru again the opposite direction of the first hole. It may not be necessary but it may help, too. The holes will disappear and it doesn’t harm the trees.
Dax
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Yes ,chip buding ,
Just put them on now . Let heal
Cutback an force bud in the spring
Not much to loose by trying.
A little time… A few sticks
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What are the holes for?
It’s typically done for Spring & summer grafting to slow sap flow. Mulberries are dripping white stuff from all the cuts so I don’t know if it’s necessary at this time of the year or not.
Also when you do not have a nurse branch on a graft it’s a good idea to drill them a few days prior to grafting. Or, if it’s raining a lot after you grafted.
Dax
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Black mulberry trees tend to bleed a lot, more so than others. Do you think it’s risky to take cuttings from black mulberry trees at this time when they’re not dormant?
I don’t. Now I also took any shoots that didn’t have buds that were solidly brown and mature and stuck those for rooting. It’s an experiment because I’ve never rooted much of anything really this time of the year. I do have an excellent set-up however so I will learn if they will root.
If you’re going to graft your cuttings then I would drill the rootstocks days in advance. Then when you’re ready with knife in hand go cut off a branch with pretty hard new-growth from this year. Attach those buds to last years growth on the rootstock if possible or at the beginning of this years growth where it’s becoming pretty rigid.
I asked my buddy with 40-years of experience grafting if I should be placing chip buds on this years growth and he stated it would be best to attach them to full-woody areas at least a year old. He did say that the oldest parts of this years growth should be mature enough also but that he would always lean toward last years wood or 2-3 year wood. Just so the wood is workable and not too old that it’s become too thick to set a chip on.
I really hope this helps. Also, when you remove your mulberry bud (I just cut one off) it doesn’t bleed at all.
In addition if for some reason the bark on a rootstock is still slipping at this time of the year, for instance it’s been raining a lot recently, I’d completely recommend a bark graft or a banana graft… and in addition set a chip bud below it.
Dax
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Thanks a lot!!
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I’ve got some rootstocks that didn’t take last spring and they have put out new shoots. Where would you Grady to on them if you wanted to give it a try? The original trunk that is growing the sucker shoots or onto one of the suckers? Mulberry.
Katy
The original trunk.
I grafted yesterday and it worked excellent. Only one rootstock bled that white fluid but as soon as I put a chip on it, it literally stopped, which I found to be odd.
Dax
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Does anybody know why different grafts work at different times of year? I haven’t tried chip budding, but it doesn’t seem that different in principle from whip & tongue. They’re all just different ways of lining up some cambium with a different bud. Why is one good for late in the season and one good for early in the season?
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Tjasko
Yes they are essentially the same principle
The difference is in the time of year and whether you force growth now or latter
In the spring grafting ( and budding) is done and forced into growth immediately. All other growth is kept in check in the spring ( unwanted shoots removed)
This time of year" late summer" budding is done and just allowed to heal up.
Growth is not forced ,tops are not cut back ( cutting back tops in late summer is bad. As it would be to late in the season " up north" for that new growth to harden for the winter.
Those late summer buds are forced into growth in the spring.
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Also “t” budding must be done when the bark is slipping, because the bud is slid under the bark.
Chip budding can be done earlier and later as the bark doesn’t have to be slipping. Just need suitable weather, time with active growth, to heal.
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In the past I have done scion grafts on plums (scions from current years growth) in the late summer and they healed but didn’t leaf out till the following spring.
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I think it is less a case of chip budding, for example, being “good in summer but not spring” than “chip works better in summer when nothing else does…”
I did a number of chip “rescue-grafts” on various rootstocks where I did a whip-and-tongue but had 12" or more of trunk, so I also put a chip or 2 in below. This was on apples, pears, and plums (and a few peaches). The chips took in spring maybe 50% or more of the time, despite being new to me/minimal skill and minimal upkeep. In fact I killed several rubbing unwanted shoots before realizing I rubbed off the chip growth.
So chip budding works earlier in the year. The issue, I suspect, is whip, cleft, etc. work less well (particularly w/ the same-year’s scionwood, which would be pretty immature) in summer, while chips still work reasonably well. So it is less a “chips like summer” than a “they are less likely to suck in summer”
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